The sound of summer

Concerts at Grinnell got off to a strong start on Monday night with a performance from Eternal Summers and Bleeding Rainbow. The show was to start at 9 p.m. but got off to a slightly late start, leading some in the audience to casually carouse a bit, and others to sit more in the periphery. When Bleeding Rainbow did take to the stage, they led the fifty or so Grinnellians in attendance in a loud, visceral introduction to the new semester.

Photo by Chris Gallo

The group had a very rhythmic sound, with the bass lines often taking the prominent position in their songs, while their two guitarists provided a jolting dose of feedback fueled noise. Adding a melodious tint were their flat vocal harmonies, which whispered through the mix to add some depth to the sound.

All in all, their songs, while perhaps not expected by some for being in a noise-punk vein, were tuneful and heavily anchored in their rhythms, giving them a unique leg on their peers in the scene.

“The opening band was really good, I thought,” said Nathan Forman ’15, “especially sometimes they had moments where they jammed really hard.”
Eternal Summers took the stage not long after the conclusion of Bleeding Rainbow’s set, also making quite an impression. The group had great chemistry and strong chops, often ending their songs with small bursts of jams.

SGA Concerts Chair Pooj Padamaraj ’13 described their music as “end of summer music,” a phrase that seemed appropriate in light of their jangly, but still reflective sound.

This is not to pigeonhole the group though—their songs sometimes were heavier, with more forceful guitar parts, but the show’s peak moments were when guitarist Nicole Yun played crystalline bursts to accompany her bandmates’ dense but adept rhythms.

“The second band made a lot of noise, but I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience,” Forman said.

Yun’s vocals also added a tender quality to their songs, and her energetic stage presence, which found her bouncing about the stage in Gardner in moments of concentration, endeared her to the crowd.

“The concert was abrasive and jarring, but I found it interesting,” said Linnea Hurst ’15.

Both bands said they enjoyed the experience of playing Grinnell, and the audience’s reaction seemed to reciprocate this. Padamaraj may have been right in calling the music appropriate for the end of the summer, but it was equally apt for the start of the year.